Slender willows sway in the breeze

Chapter 164 Confusion
The six Nascent Soul stage experts unleashed their spells once more, with thunder roaring, ice spikes raining down, and earth spikes shooting into the sky. The various spells intertwined, forming an even more powerful torrent of energy that, along with the attacks of the others, hurtled towards the black-robed man's flute.

The man in black robes looked at the overwhelming attack, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes.

But he gritted his teeth, placed the flute in front of him, and tried to block the fatal blow once again.

When all the attacks converged on the flute, a crisp "crack" was heard, and the flute finally succumbed to the pressure and broke completely.

The man in black robes let out a desperate scream. His body lost its support and flew backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground.

As the flute snapped, the eerie black flames and blades around them vanished instantly, and everything returned to calm. The group slowly approached the man in black robes, watching him warily.

The man in black robes lay on the ground, his eyes filled with resentment, but he was now powerless to resist.

"Who exactly are you? Why are you stopping us?" Gu Changzhou asked coldly.

The man in black robes sneered and slowly said, "I am nothing more than a pawn of the Xuanji Hall. They promised me that as long as I could guard this place and prevent you from entering the depths of the Burial Spirit Valley, they would give me great power. Hmph, now it seems that it was all just a pipe dream."

"Xuanji Hall..."

Gu Changzhou frowned, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes.

Liu Sijun: "Xuanji Hall is already ahead of us, we can't delay any longer."

Gu Changzhou nodded: "That's right, time is of the essence, we must hurry on our way." Just as the group was about to turn and leave, the man in black robes suddenly let out a sinister laugh, "You think you can reach the Blood Spirit Source so easily? Deep within the Burial Valley, countless dangers await you, and the experts of the Xuanji Hall have already laid numerous traps..."

Before he could finish speaking, the man in black robes spat out a mouthful of black blood, and his breath gradually weakened.

Gu Changzhou squatted down, stared into the black-robed man's eyes, and asked seriously, "What else do you know? Tell me, and perhaps I can spare your life."

A hint of hesitation flashed in the black-robed man's eyes, but he finally spoke slowly: "I... I only know that they set up a trap called 'Illusionary Spirit Maze' on the only way to the Blood Spirit Source."

Entering the formation will trap you in an endless illusion; those with weaker minds will be forever lost within it, never to escape…

After saying that, the man in black robes tilted his head to the side and stopped breathing completely.

Gu Changzhou stood up and relayed the black-robed man's words to everyone. Liu Sijun frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Illusory Spirit Array... This kind of array is extremely complex, mainly used to confuse people's minds. We must be careful and not let our guard down."

Tong Lei gripped his longsword tightly and shouted, "What are we afraid of? With so many of us, are we afraid of not being able to break through a small maze?"

Min Rui shook his head and said, "Brother Tong, we must not be careless. Since the Xuanji Hall can use this Illusionary Spirit Maze to block us, it must have its own power. We need to prepare in advance to avoid getting into trouble."

Gao Kuo nodded in agreement: "Master Min is absolutely right. Miss Liu, you have a good understanding of various formations, do you have any countermeasures?"

After a moment of contemplation, Liu Sijun said, "The Illusionary Spirit Maze mainly works by interfering with people's minds. We can take some pills to stabilize our minds first, and after entering the formation, we can maintain close contact with each other and remind each other, which may increase the chances of breaking the formation."

Everyone thought the plan was feasible, and they all took out the pills from the mustard seed and swallowed them.

They then continued their journey deeper into the Valley of Burial Spirits.

Throughout the journey, everyone remained highly vigilant, ready to deal with any potential dangers.

Before long, a thick fog appeared ahead, as dark as ink, with a faint, eerie aura emanating from it.

Gu Changzhou's expression hardened, and he said, "It seems this is the Illusionary Spirit Maze. Everyone be careful and stay close behind me." With that, he activated his Star Power, and a faint starlight emanated from his body as he slowly stepped into the mist.

The group followed closely behind, and as soon as they entered the mist, they felt the surrounding scenery change instantly.

The once narrow path has now become a vast desert, with the scorching sun high in the sky, yellow sand flying everywhere, and the intense heat making it almost impossible to breathe.

"Oh no, we've entered an illusion! Everyone, stay calm and don't be fooled by what you see!"

Gu Changzhou shouted loudly.

Everyone circulated their spiritual energy to stabilize their minds, attempting to find clues to break the formation.

However, everything in the illusion seemed so real that it was difficult to distinguish between reality and illusion.

Suddenly, Liu Sijun saw an oasis in the distance, and in the oasis there was a magnificent palace.

A thought flashed through her mind, realizing it might be an illusionary trap, yet she still found herself involuntarily walking towards the oasis. Tong Lei, with his profound cultivation and being right beside Liu Sijun, immediately sensed something was wrong and pulled her back, simultaneously channeling his spiritual energy into her.

Liu Sijun suddenly came to his senses.

“I, I just saw an oasis ahead.”

Tong Lei looked at Liu Sijun with a serious expression and said, "Miss Liu, this illusion is indeed powerful. Even you almost fell for it. Everyone must be on high alert and not let their guard down in the slightest."

Everyone nodded, and their eyes became even more wary.

At this moment, the sun was high in the sky, and the temperature in the desert was becoming increasingly scorching, as if it were about to evaporate all of everyone's spiritual energy.

Min Rui channeled his spiritual power and cast a small wind-based spell, bringing a touch of coolness to everyone.

He frowned and said, "This illusion not only confuses our minds, but also tries to deplete our spiritual energy. Everyone must use their spiritual energy wisely and not waste it blindly."

Looking at the endless yellow sand around them, Gao Kuo said, "Miss Liu, you mentioned finding runes on the sand. Perhaps this is the key to breaking the formation. Let's search more carefully."

Liu Sijun took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and squatted down again to carefully examine the yellow sand beneath his feet.

The others followed suit, scattering to search for clues to the runes.

Not long after, a Nascent Soul stage expert shouted, "I think I've also discovered some strange patterns here."

The crowd quickly gathered around, and saw that the patterns on the yellow sand were faintly visible, like some kind of ancient script, but they were obscure and difficult to understand.

Liu Sijun stared at these patterns, quickly recalling the various array formations and runes he knew.

Suddenly, her eyes lit up, and she said, "I once saw similar runes in an ancient book. This might be a kind of directional marker. If we connect these runes in a certain order, we might be able to find the way to break the formation."

Tong Lei looked at Liu Sijun with eyes full of trust: "Miss Liu, whatever you say, we'll do as you say."

(End of this chapter)